PARENTS have called on health bosses to fund expensive treatment for their baby's head growth defect.

Little Theo Cox suffers from plagiocephaly, or flat head syndrome, and needs to wear a special helmet to mould his features back into shape.

But Caroline Greaves and Jason Cox had to take their nine-month-old son to London and pay £1,850 for him to get one fitted because the NHS says the procedure is cosmetic.

Hairdresser Miss Greaves, 23, of Abbotsbury Road, Weymouth, said: "It's such a worry for us, Theo's head is severely asymmetric because all the plates have moved round.

"There are ways of repositioning him when he sleeps, but nobody told us that until too late.

"They said the condition would correct itself but his head seemed to get flatter and flatter."

Theo was fitted with the Symmetry Through Active Remoulding (STAR) band at the London Orthotic Consultancy and has to wear it 23 hours a day for five months.

The syndrome could have been caused after Theo was born using the ventouse or vacuum extraction method, which may have caused weakened neck muscles.

Welder fabricator Jason Cox, 34, who is also dad to Tyler Purnell, 10, said: "Looking down on the skull you can see the right hand side has been pushed forward and Theo has a slight bulge on that side of his face. His ears are out of alignment.

"We have found the NHS very blas about it, making unhelpful comments like 'he could always grow his hair' or 'it won't be that bad when he grows up', which is a bit harsh.

"They say it is a cosmetic procedure, but if braces and ears get pinned back on the NHS, why can't they pay for this? We can't afford the money so we have had to put it on the credit card."

London Orthotic Consultancy orthotist Jo Drake said: "Four hospitals have referred patients to us on the NHS, so it's a postcode lottery. The National Institute of Clinical Excel-lence is reviewing plagiocephaly treatment but these babies should not be getting the condition in the first place. It is on the increase as a result of advice to lie them on their backs to stop sudden infant death syndrome."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "Plagiocephaly can occur for a number of reasons and doctors have found that the condition can often correct itself as a baby starts crawling and sitting up.

"The NHS is always prepared to intervene where a condition requires it and to seek specialist advice where this is needed."